Letters: Carbon tax, books, human kindness

Copyright 2013: Houston Chronicle |
February 15, 2013

Regarding "Obama's bold agenda offers little room for compromise" (Page A1, Wednesday), in his State of the Union address, President Obama joined virtually every major business, government and religion by acknowledging that climate change is occurring, is anthropogenic, and is worthy of a policy response.

Though climate policy has been slow due to congressional gridlock and residual climate denial, the greatest hurdle has been a lack of good policy proposals. Most folks have focused on cap-and-trade, which caps emissions then sells carbon credits on an open market. Though comprehensive, this approach introduces price uncertainty and is riddled with complexities, unavoidable loopholes and high implementation costs. Then there are a number of well-meaning regulatory Band-Aids that directly subsidize or mandate efficiency or renewable energy initiatives. While these can be effective, they are neither economically efficient nor sufficiently broad.

So, is there a viable alternative? Fortunately, yes: a revenue-neutral carbon tax. This simple approach taxes carbon sources at a fixed rate based on their greenhouse gas potentials, then evenly distributes the revenue back to taxpayers. The carbon tax rate adjusts over time to seek the most cost-effective balance between reducing emissions today and reducing their impacts tomorrow. This approach is simple, predictable and difficult to game.

Regarding "Committed to protecting brick-and-mortar bookstores" (Page D2, Monday), purchasing printed books and other reading material goes far beyond nostalgia; it goes to the core of preserving and advancing civilization. The printed word is our only time-tested, proven storage device for information. Without the printed information left by our ancestors, we could not have the world we enjoy today.

No one can deny the convenience of having entertainment and knowledge at our fingertips via digital electronic devices just as, at the time of their inception, no one would have denied the convenience of Edison's wax cylinder, the phonograph, eight track, Beta, VHS, audio casettes and the host of computer programs that have come and gone since ENIAC loomed large upon our horizon.

Information preserved on those bygone formats is for all practical purposes inaccessible while the books printed by Gutenberg in the mid-15th century can still be used. Publishing companies are in the business of making a profit. Absent a financial motivation they will stop printing books and move into an all digital environment.

This will result in limiting, not increasing, the availability of information, and will negatively impact the storage and retrieval of that information for those generations yet to come.

Rick Fontes, Waller

Milk of human kindness

Reading the paper each day, a person could conclude that the world is quickly going to hell in a handbasket. However, reading the article "It's home sweet home again" (Page B1, Wednesday) brought tears to my eyes and reminded me once again that the world is full of good people.

Thank you to all those people and companies who brought joy to the 93-year-old veteran by remodeling his home after the vandalism by two teens. My faith in humanity is restored.